How Time Does Fly.....

Last I checked, it was summer....and now here we are well in to September!  What happened?  Where did the summer go?  No longer am I just the mother of a three-and-a-half year old (not just a three-year-old, it is imperative that everyone know he is three and a HALF!),  but of a pre-schooler.  Yep, my boy started pre-school this week.  The photo above is our September calendar layout, and the photo on the right shows him all ready on the very first day.  His very first first day of school.  Ever.  I took a lot of pictures, yes I did, before we left the house, and before the teachers told us moms to say good-bye and skedaddle.  And yes, he loves it already.  And no, I didn't cry. 

September is historically a very busy month.  I don't recall too many Septembers in my life that haven't been busy and this one is certainly no exception.  As a teenager, I was busy with football games and dances and cheerleading practice and homecoming and all that vitally important stuff that took precedence over sleep.  Now, I'm busy with craft shows and a garage sale and a Day Out With Thomas, and oh yes, keeping up with Project Life!  I've done so well documenting our year that I am determined not to let that get lost in the shuffle despite the fact that I will be busy, busy, busy from now until Christmas.  I have managed to fill my schedule with at least one event every week, and sometimes two, or three, or....

So, my September calendar, when I finally got around to making it (I held off a few days so I could use a first day of preschool photo) was put together in under five minutes.  The striped paper is an old design from BoBunny and this was my last sheet.  Plain red cardstock, and that awesome "THIS" stamp is one I ordered from elisejoy.com earlier this year.  Elise Blaha Cripe is well-known in blogland and I read her blog regularly for inspiration.  She's a multi-talented gal; find her at www.eliseblaha.typepad.com.  Here's a closer look at that stamp (I'm not sure if these are still available, I know she has new stamps soon to be released!):

I've been using this stamp quite a bit in my Project Life layouts (which I may or may not share by the end of the year).  I love it because it is so versatile.  There are millions of rubber stamps available but since I am running out of storage (hence the garage sale this weekend!) I try to buy stamps that I know I can use for lots of different projects.  "THIS" stamp is definitely one of those. 

For now, back to work.  If you're out and about in Des Moines, Iowa this fall, you can find me around town at East Village Sunday Bazaar (Sundays from noon to 4 on East 5th Street) and of course at the next Market Day, coming up on October 6.  Next Saturday I am headed to Cedar Falls for The Pear Fair, a new event for me:  you can get more info on this event, which is put on by Mohair Pear (2209 College Street in C.F.) by liking this event on facebook, of course!  Just search for The Pear Fair D.I.Y. Craft & Design event.

Happy September to you.....

This is August.

What about the "lazy" days of summer?  Summer is anything but lazy around here lately.  It's chock-full of all kinds of good stuff, super-busy and lots of fun.  Lots of photo-taking going on to capture these moments.  I love summer.  And August in particular. 

First things first:  here's our calendar for this month.  It is totally simple, because I put it together in a hurry. 

The green patterned paper on top of the kraft cardstock is from the "Friendly Forest" collection paper pad by Colorbok; the "August" and "simply wonderful" tabs are from the summer tags collection by Elle's Studio (find it at twopeasinabucket.com).  And the photos?  That's the important part.  Those were taken during our visit to Knoxville for an overnight camping trip to help celebrate a friend's 40th birthday at the sprint car races.  Those slides you see Jacob on are both located at Auld Park in Knoxville, and they both just happen to be slides that I enjoyed playing on as a kid when I lived in Knoxville.  Auld Park was one of my favorite places, because it had what was known as the Rocket Slide--which was the most awesome slide ever.  It's gone, but in it's place is an amazing wooden play structure that takes the cake for playgrounds as far as we're concerned. (And we've checked out quite a few playgrounds around the state this summer so we should know!).  But both of these slides pictured have been at Auld Park for at least thirty years.  I was pretty happy to see there were still some old-school pieces of play equipment left.  Even two merry-go-rounds.  And I was even happier to watch my little man play on them. 

The big thing about August in our world is the Iowa State Fair.  We love the Fair.  Yesterday was opening day, and of course, we were there.  I took Jacob and my niece Josie and those two hit the midway big time.  We managed to look at a few things as well, but mostly they just wanted to ride the rides.  As many as possible.  Over and over.  And over, and over, and...well, you get the picture.  Here's a glimpse of our first day at the Fair:

The Giant Slide is always a must-do.  The great thing about having an 11-year-old along is that she can take Jacob on this stuff, which means I don't injure myself.

Jacob loves the motorcycles.  I love the sheer delight on his face.  This ride looks to be about 50 years old but it still entertains the little ones. 

                                           Flying a spaceship is always fun.

                                           Jacob and Josie rode these swings a few times. 

As luck would have it, Union Pacific had a train exhibit just the right size for a 3-year-old train enthusiast.  To celebrate UP's 150th anniversary, they've also got a real steam engine on display here in Des Moines, and we'll be visiting that over the weekend.  It's located about three blocks south of the State Fairgrounds at SE 32nd & Court Avenue if you'd like to check it out.  It will be there through Sunday and it's free. 

All in all, a great day at the Fair.  Seven hours of the Fair is not enough, though, so we'll be going back.  There's so much to see and do that there's no way one visit could possibly suffice.  Honestly, if I had unlimited money to spend, I'm pretty sure I could do all ten days of the State Fair and not get tired of it. 

And parents, the Megapass wristband for unlimited midway rides is worth every penny of the $25.00.  Kids (and grownups) can ride all day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  That's a lot of rides. 

Enjoy what's left of your summer, and maybe I'll see you at the fair. 

Summer giveaway.

I'm giving away two simple summer mini-books today.  Because I love summer.  Both are 6 x 6, have kraft cardstock covers, and 20 pages, front & back inside.  The first 2 people to leave comments will be the lucky winners.  One book has coral & lime pages inside, the other blues & greens.  I seem to make a summer mini-album every year because I end up with lots of summer photos.  A mini-album is an easy & fun way to document all your summer fun. 

I will contact the 2 winners tomorrow to get shipping info.  Thanks for reading! 

June Calendar

Yesterday I found a little window of time to put together a calendar page for June.  Another totally unplanned, random collection of tidbits, but I'm happy with it.  The background paper is one I've had for a few years and I love it.  This was actually my last sheet of it, but I squelched my tendency to hoard and cut into it.  The yellow file folder scrap is just that: a scrap that was in a pile leftover from making journal pockets.  The "play. laugh. grow." is from a tv commercial (Play Skool, perhaps?) and I know I've used it before on scrapbook layouts.  I think it's perfect for kid-related layouts.  The polka-dot tape is either Tim Holtz or 7 Gypsies, and the velveteen leaves were purchased from Speckled Egg a few years back; I stuck it on there for a bit of texture.  Cut, stick, and hang it on the wall.  Done.  What I love most about this is the photos.  I am blessed with a photogenic child.  The photo on the left was snapped by me and the one on the right was taken by our good friend Ruth during our recent visit to Eldora.  She had her photos printed and then sent me some in the mail--a wonderful surprise.  I love getting real mail. 

Happy April!

April started out wonderfully: our thermometer showed a high temperature of 88 degrees yesterday! We spent most of it outside, playing, washing vehicles the old-fashioned way, and finished off the day with a nice long bike ride.  It was Jacob's first time riding on the bike trail at Gray's Lake here in Des Moines and he did great.  As for me, it was much more fun to ride with him than to push him up hills and then chase him down hills. 

I was gone all day Saturday at Sycamore Craft Market in Iowa City (had a great time, and thanks to Jody & Jason for creating and hosting this event!) so yesterday I put together our April calendar layout in record time by grabbing a few supplies from my stash and sticking it all together. 

Once again, I used one of Jacob's many paintings for the background.  He's a very prolific "paint artist."  The measuring-tape trim on the bottom is by Webster's Pages, the "play" ticket is Tim Holtz idea-ology, and the "Grow" bingo card is from Jenni Bowlin Studios a couple years back.  I've had the flowers in my collection so long that I have no idea what brand they are.  I stuck it all together and got the page done.  Easy peasy. 

I wanted to include a picture of Jacob and the tulips in the yard, because he was so excited when they bloomed last week.  I can't take any credit for the tulips; they came with our house when we moved here almost five years ago.  The fact that I didn't plant them is probably why they continue to bloom every year. 
We are so enjoying this early spring that we've got.  I wanted our April calendar to be bright and colorful as well, just like the tulips. 
Now we're off on another bike ride.  Enjoy your day!

Happy February

A new month means a new page on the calendar:

One of the little goals I've set for myself this year is to stay on top of my calendar layouts and have them ready to go for the first of the month.  I used one of Jacob's paintings for the background and then just added a few simple embellishments: red ribbon(from Michael's), lace tape (from stampington.com), and a few random hearts: one from Kraft paper, one from my favorite red patterned paper (Paper Source), and one cut from red felt.  A little tape, a little glue, a few staples, and I added a quote from Jack Kerouac in the bottom left corner: "Be in love with your life.  Every detail of it."  I came across this quote on Elise Blaha's blog: www.eliseblaha.typepad.com.  She used it on a layout she created for Project Life, so I took a cue from her and did the same, and also thought it was perfect for this month's calendar layout, which shows some recent pictures of Jacob doing fun stuff like eating ice cream, drawing, and reading a book at the library. 

I think using Jacob's artwork is going to be repeated on the calendar layouts throughout the year.  Because it's a great way to show off his artwork and also because he makes a LOT of paintings.  And I can't quite bring myself to put any of them in the recycle bin. 

And now to find the Valentine decorations and get them put up!  



Hello New Year!

I love the feeling of a fresh start that a new year brings.  And another thing I love about a new year is that it means new calendars.  I love calendars, always have.  I like writing down birthdays and events and the feeling of anticipation and planning ahead that I get when I start a new calendar.  And of course, when it comes to calendars, I'm totally old school: no electronic calendars for me.  It's all about the paper. 

2012 will be the fourth year that I will be making a calendar, which becomes a scrapbook of our year.  Essentially it's just creating a scrapbook layout as the art for each month.  Here's a quick look at a few of my favorites from last year's calendar:

For me, the trick to keeping up with this ongoing project is to keep it quick and simple.  Usually I spend about ten minutes putting together the page for each month.  Either I snap a new picture or use a very recent one, because I like the calendar to show what's happening at the moment.  Then I just grab some bits and pieces and scraps of paper that I've got close at hand and stick'em on the page and call it good.  Once in a while I'll spend a bit more time on it and dig out some embellishments from my stash, like I did for October's layout.  That month is special because it's Jacob's birthday, so I will spend more time on it.  Other layouts, like the ones for August and January, are totally simple and took five minutes. 
Here's the page I made this morning for January:

This page consists of a piece of pattern paper cut to fit the calendar (I use the 8.5" x 11" Archiver's blank calendars), a piece of polka-dot tape (might be 7Gypsies, but I'm not sure), a piece of sparkly red rickrack, a few letter stickers (October Afternoon), and some staples for a bit of extra texture and to make sure everything stays put.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

My tip for making your own calendars is to go through and put the dates on for each month in advance.  I didn't do this the first couple years and then it became more of a hassle when I wanted to jot something on the calendar ahead of time.  There are month stickers available, like the clear ones I used this year.  Last year I used my favorite typewriter font stamps to stamp each month, and I've also just used my own handwriting.  I also double check my dates with another calendar to make sure I keep all my days straight. 

I love how these calendars show the day-to-dayness of our life.  I try to jot down as much info as I can, like funny things Jacob says, in addition to events (birthday parties, concerts, craft shows) and routine stuff like doctor appointments, etc.  It's a great record of our life.  These calendars also help me remember stuff when I want to create a page for our scrapbooks; since I'm woefully behind on those, I need something to help me remember. 

But of course, one of my New Year's resolutions is to get caught up on my scrapbooking. 

Happy 2012!